Hallowen 2009

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Another great Halloween! Our little Bo Peep, Michael Jackson, Batman, and Sumo Wrestler looked pretty darn cute! Faith was a little irked that we were not willing to invest in the $400 sheep that she saw in the catalog with the little girl modeling her costume but, she got over it. She had the idea all on her own that our dog Mattie would do as her sheep. I thought it was a great idea until we saw how excited our 60lb dog was to see the tables of food and a hundred kids running around. So, she had to go on without her sheep!Little Halle wasn't much up for a costume...her bad tummy leaves her a little out of sorts and she hates having her clothes changed. So I settled for her wearing her candy corn bow!!!
We had our usual block party, had good food, desserts and the kids ran around and played. Once it got dark the families huddled together and everyone set out to trick or treat! My kids were ready to go, especially Faith. We thought she would never tire....and the only reason we got her in was because she ran into a girlfriend, Reagan and the girls decided that they would rather have a playdate than trick or treat. So, they headed in the house to break out the babies and the doll strollers.

The boys trucked on and on. Hunter came home after a while to head to a Halloween party of another 5th grader. You know...this grownin up thing stinks. Didn't care much to share Hunter on Halloween night but, compared to some of my neighbors whose boys spent the whole night with friends...I counted my blessings. Hunter still loves to be with and around us....and I love that.

Another year of good company, the realization of how blessed we are by our awesome neighbors and friends.....but, most of all....our children.

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Love to all,
J

Stay Tuned....

Due to a high volume of crying....I have barely had time to even look at my Halloween pictures must less post them and recall the memory of the night! But, they will be up tomorrow! I promise! Poor little Halle....horrible stomach and NOTHING works!

Love to all,
J

Check this out!!!

A friend emailed this link to to Bo today. The first photo is of our boys at the game taken by press. Even though the game wasn't televised...they still got the coverage!!! Pretty cool!

www.spotted.lubbockonline.com





Love to all,
~J

PS...Happy Birthday Bo!!! xoxo

Memories that last a lifetime............

You may or may not know that Bo went to Texas Tech and is darn proud of it! He has carefully
encouraged our children to be Red Raider fans and now they are full blown fanatics!!! I used to try and throw in a ..."let's hear it for the SFA Lumberjacks", and they just stare at me with open mouths!!! So...I decided to just switch and join the Raider side!!! Last year Bo took Hunter and Chandler on their first "boys weekend" and went to Lubbock to their first Tech game. It was a little slice of heaven for the boys and they have talked about it daily since they returned. Well, needless to say they were thrilled when Bo came home a couple months ago and announced that the tradition would continue. They were going to the Tech vs. A&M game! They got the RV last Friday and the boys loaded up...this time Weston would join them. We were a little nervous about sending Weston and wondered if he was old enough to handle all the activities but..we decided to give it a go! The boys were busting at the seams to get on the road...to begin their magical weekend with Dad! Hunter and Chandler had shared so many memories with Weston and they were so excited that he was coming along.
We only had one hitch in the plans...that was ...Faith was a little miffed that "Dad didn't ask me if I wanted to go! I want to go to the football game." It didn't matter which way I tried to spin how fun the girl's weekend would be....she wanted a ticket to that game.
The boys headed out to a friend's house in Dimmit, Texas...where they would hook up and stay the night. They love going to Mr. Bradford's house! Sorry, Sally...as good as you are to them...it is known as Mr. Bradford's house. They love the pool, the trampoline (without the net...they always need to throw that in)...the HUGE front yard that is THE BEST yard to play football. I happen to be on the phone when they pulled up to the house and could hear the ewwing and ahhhing on the phone! Then Chandler said "AWESOME" ....Mr. Bradford had adorned his roof with a huge Texas Tech sign in Christmas lights!!!


If you follow the Raiders you already know that they played a horrible game and lost to A&M for the first time in double digit years...but, you would not have known from talking to the boys. The fact that they stunk was a side note to the amazing time that had in Lubbock...once again!



The next day they started making their way back but, made a stop to tour Mr. Bradford's Cotton Gin. The boys loved this and brought home bags of cotton.

Last night when they arrived home...we all sat down to dinner and the boys exchanged stories of their weekend. They were beaming!!! Tech Football,tailgating before the game and RVing with their Dad ...what a weekend!


I have to admit that I am a little jealous of Bo...I don't know if he realizes how much the boys relish in their time with him on these weekends and how I know that they will remember every detail for the rest of their lives. How proud they are that their Dad went to college at Tech and how much they love sitting next to him in that stadium. I also wonder if the boys know that I think their Dad is just as or more proud to be sitting next to them. It's an awesome thing they have between them.
Even though I am jealous...I feel so blessed that our children have a Father that loves them enough to make these memories that will last a lifetime.

Faith and Halle did enjoy their souvenirs!!! Well, Faith more than Halle...


Love to all,
~J
GO RED RAIDERS!!!!

Those Darn Pigs.....

Wonder where I've been?? We have been down for the count...with swine flu. Last Sunday morning Hunter woke up at 3:45am with a fever and a sore throat. I took care of him, gave him some motrin to make him comfortable and quarantined him into the playroom! Immediately packed a bag of Halle's things, texted my Mom and let her know that we were on our way. I dropped Halle off in the wee hours of the morning ...and as the tears flowed all the way home...I kept telling myself that it would only be a couple days. Boy, was I wrong!

I took Hunter in and he tested positive for the Flu A...which they assume is "swine flu"....and so the week began. He was confined to our playroom with a TV, playstation, cell phone and a nurse that visited every 30 minutes. Bringing the baby home was taking FOREVER and I missed her terribly. It took him a couple days to kick it and finally by the 4th day he was ready to come out of confinement...which worked out well....because Chandler came home from school not feeling well and after a round of lysol....Hunter was released and Chandler was admitted. That should give you an idea of how we got to Halle living at my Mom's for 6 long days. It was good that I was busy taking care of sick kids or else I would have gone crazy.

My Dad took pictures of my sweet Halle and I am not sure if it was good for me or bad. What I could see was that of course she was being loved every minute but, it broke my heart that she would become more alert, start to babble and sqwak while she was away from me. Not to mention that her sweet little face changed so much while she was gone.

Finally, it seems whatever gunk we had has made it's way through...I am just hopeful that we can keep the illness to a minimum this winter so...sweet Halle can stay with us......where she belongs!

Here are some recent photos....
Love to all,
J

What's been going on???

I know, I know....I have been slacking! Actually, I have been moderately busy...but, I got an email from Ashley yesterday pleading for new pictures. Things have not been too crazy, just constant...which is pretty much the way it was before the 5th baby. Let's see what all has been going on....September 10th....Weston turned 6! He skipped off to school to celebrate with his friends and his teacher. Bo and I went up and had lunch with him at school. He shared brownie treats with his class and all in all ....a great day. After school we had pizza and cake and ice cream. He got a couple presents...all skate boarding items which is all the rage around here. Last weekend he celebrated with his school friends at a place called Jump Town..which is all inflatable bounce houses in this giant building. I would say judging by the amount of sweat rolling off their heads...they had a great time. He had 26 kids there...mostly new friends he has made in Kindergarten and then Hunter and Chandler got to each bring a friend too. I love to watch my kids with their friends. I don't know if my kids are incredibly blessed by who their friends are...actually, I know that they are...but, the kids that come over here are so good with all our other children. They really and truly love them. Hunter has two twin boys he hangs around with and they put up with Faith tirelessly pulling at their shirts and saying "chase me...Jofus (Joseph, but we don't have the heart to correct her) and Michael"...She is forever planning where she is going to sleep among all these boys.....well, that part seems a little scary to Bo and I....which is why we lock her down in our bedroom whenever the boys have someone spend the night.
Anyway, Hunter and his friends tossed around these little 5 and 6 yr olds for two hours inside these bounce houses. The kids loved it and Weston seemed to feel 10 feet tall. That day...his big brother was the coolest!







Halle is doing great! She is still on her NICU schedule for feeding and is gaining weight like a champ. Bo stays up with her until her 11pm feeding and then I get up at 2 and 5am. It has worked out great. Like all of our babies she has a bad tummy and she has her fussy times of the day She had her bloodwork done on Wednesday and it came back that her anemia is almost cleared up. Her blood count was just below normal for someone her age. We are so thankful. Now if we can just keep her healthy through this scary flu season....I am a nervous wreck and I will be glad when it's over...
We are not quite sure who she looks like. As she gets chubbier cheeks and puts on a little weight...we think it changes week to week. We still think the strongest contender is Weston. We do know for sure that she has inherited my family's pasty white skin...poor thing! Anyway, see what you think!

Here are some photos of Halle taken yesterday!





Oh...and a picture of Faith and her babies! Too cute! We thought it would be best to equip Faith with her own babies and supplies...just to keep her busy!
You can hardly tell which one is the real thing!!!





Love to all,
J

Back to School

The boys are back in school full swing. Hunter was pretty fired up about 5th grade until he started getting an idea of how much homework he was going to have. Chandler is loving 3rd grade and Weston thinks Kindergarten is great! All the boys got great Teachers and the year has gotten off to a great start. I cannot believe that Weston is in Kindergarten and having three in elementary school ought to be interesting for me....oh, the paper piles I have to look forward to.....

Faith had her first day of preschool today and it was most definitely harder for Mom than it was for her. As she hopped out of my car in carpool and waved and blew me a kiss goodbye...I watched her for as long as I could...all the while tears streaming down my face. I was confused as to why I was even sending her to school....I love having her home with me. She is so easy, so wonderful and we have a great time together. Why was I doing this to us??? I decided that I was sure that she wouldn't make it through the day and when the teacher called to tell me that she had been crying all day...I would not send her back. I would save the money spent on tuition and she would stay at home with me. So, I dried my tears and went on with my day...never allowing my blackberry to get too far out of reach...so I would not miss their call. Finally at 1:15pm...so puzzled as to why I had not heard from them yet....I headed to the school parking lot and got in carpool line for 2pm dismissal. I stared at the door to the school for 45 mins waiting for her face to appear, finally she came practically skipping out the door. She climbed in the car talking a mile a minute about the "great day" she had and told me all the fun things she did. She loved her classroom, her lunch, the toys and the babies there, her snack, her teacher, the playground, the singing, the praying, she loved it all....except all the boys in her class. She said there were too many boys and she really wished there could be more girls.

So, I knew on the way home that she wouldn't be staying home with me and that she was ready....I just wasn't. I am still not and I guess that will take some time to get used to....letting them grow up is hard to do and I personally don't look forward to it at all.

Here are some school photos of the kids!





Love to all,
J

Look Who's Home

Most of you know that sweet little Halle got to come home today. We picked the kids up from school about 10am and headed to the hospital. After spending 5 days in the hospital and then all these days in the NICU I have come to develope a new appreciation for peace and quiet....imagine that??? Anyway, I have been talking to the kids about bringing the volume level in our house down a bit in preparation of bringing Halle home. I have challenged the kids to attempt to lower their voices when indoors and to watch the way and how loud they speak to each other. So when the NICU nurse put Halle in the car...Faith was very quick to remind the boys that they needed to speak in a whisper while riding in the car. She has been very protective of her all day. She has stepped into the role of big sister with both feet! Besides she wouldn't miss an opportunity to boss her brothers anyway.....:)
Bo dropped the kids and I off at home and headed back to work. I think I stood and stared until his tail lights were no longer in view....when I walked back in the house and they were all talking to me at once and asking to hold her, feed her, change her diaper etc......it sure looked and sounded like alot more than 5 kids. :)
I have to say the afternoon went very smoothly and the kids were thrilled to have Halle home and were lining up on the couch to begin their holding turn.

We did find out that Halle's anemia has not entirely cleared up and that her blood count dropped today a bit. She will need a follow up blood test on Monday that will give us a clearer indication if this is a normal dip or if this is something more serious that will require us to revisit the transfusion issue. Either way I am trying to have peace about this issue. I know who is in control and my worrying and obsessing over this is not going to change the outcome. I would ask for your prayers that a transfusion is not the direction we have to go...

Whatever lies ahead for us I have to say that I have always known and been so thankful for our healthy babies. Bo and I have been so blessed by these children. Our NICU experience had so many blessings for me....the blessing of knowing our daughter began getting top notch immediate care, the relationship that I developed with one of her nurses, Alice. The time that I got to spend with Halle all alone or sitting with my Mom. The number of hours that Bo and I were able to spend talking and appreciating this little miracle without the chaos that our four other little miracles bring. But, the biggest I think was prospective.....because I was at the hospital so much I learned either through direct conversation with the other parents or just by observation and maybe a little evesdropping on the nurses.....the stories about the other babies in Halle's pod. The first thing I learned was to be humbled by what we were dealing with and to be so incredibly thankful that she had some minor health issues that ultimately ...worse case....a transfusion will cure her. The second is how fortunate I am that I was able to be at the hospital for every feeding and that in the event that I couldn't be there....my Mom and Sarah could go in my place and love our little girl for that hour. So many of the parents both worked or had no family here and they would go all day or days without holding their little babies. I worried and was anxious if I had to miss one of her every three hour feedings....these Moms were going ALL day. The third is that in all of this....once again HIS way is the best way....yes, I was getting exhausted driving back and forth to the NICU every 3 hours and it was beginning to take it's toll on the kids....but, I am so thankful that I have been able to recover physically and rest at night .....with the added benefit of being able to get my kids settled in their first week of school. HIS timing is perfect and today was the perfect day to bring our sweet Halle home.
God is so good.....

I cannot begin to express my gratitude the amazing group of women in my life. The meals, carpooling, gifts etc. that have been showered upon our family. I am so grateful to all of you and so thankful for each one of you!

I hope you are all well! Please continue to keep us in your prayers...we have a long flu season in front of us and Halle is so little and so young. I am very worried about her and all the germs that come around our house. I plan on keeping her very hidden from as much as I possible can...but, please pray for her protection!










Love to all,
J

A picture taken by her Papa....